Lentils for Nutritious, Sustainable, and Resilient Food Systems in southern Africa…the journey begins in Malawi
H. A. Pswarayi
University of Nottingham
The Birth of an Idea…the MAPS project
- From MAPS, Other studies:
- Southern Africa’s Food Systems deficient in protein, micro-nutrients.
- Malawi, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, etc
- MAPS simulation:
- lentils, most efficient in supplying these nutrients.
Why Regional Food Systems are Failing…interlocking, cross-disciplinary challenges
- Government policies
- Cropping practices
- Climate change
Government Policies
- Policies skewing crops produced:
- establishment of grain marketing boards for maize
- reinforced by maize production packages
- promotion of tobacco to earn foreign currency
- through numerous contracting companies offering tobacco crop packages
Cropping Practices…..poor soil husbandry
- most soils in region have low pH, acidic:
- due to continuous fertilizer use,
- without promoting liming to ameliorate the problem,
- Hence:
- prevalence of low crop yields,
- and inadequate food production,
- due to reduced fertilizer efficiency, and Al toxicity.
Lack of Rotations in Cropping Systems
- for millennia, legume-cereal rotations have boosted soil fertility, particularly for resource poor farmers
- yet, not widely practiced by the resource poor in southern Africa
- partly due to govt policies mentioned above,
- that drive maize and tobacco production
- and lack of viable alternative cash crops
Climate change…
- Southern Africa, a hot spot of climate change
- due to its geographical location.
- Hence:
- frequent erratic rains, low rainfall, droughts
- frequent heat waves,
- frequent crop failures…hunger…poverty,
- widespread nutrient deficiencies.
A Pulse Solution…lentils, key to complex challenges
- a novel crop in southern Africa
- a crop of multiple attributes
Lentil Attribute…Lentils improve human health
- lentils are nutritious:
- rich in protein,
- rich in complex carbohydrates,
- rich in minerals: e.g., K, Mg, Fe, Se, folate, Ca, P, Zn
- richest in fiber, which is good for digestion and regulating insulin levels
Lentil Attribute…Lentils improve soil health
- lentils encourage good soil husbandry
- farmers have to add lime to ameliorate soil acidity,
- because lentils are very sensitive to acidic soils
Acidic Soils (pH 3.6)…severe stunting
Acidic Soils (pH 3.6)…susceptible to drought
Lentil Attribute…Lentils are water efficient
- lentil crops require minimal rainfall
- about 300 - 500 mm, annually
- maize requires about double this
- hence, lentils better adapt to short rainfall seasons due to climate change
- some lentil varieties are drought and heat tolerant
- adapt well to the climate change induced frequent droughts
Lentil Attribute…Lentils reduce domestic energy consumption
- lentils cook in 10-30 minutes,
- which saves energy, reducing deforestation,
- Firewood, a primary source of domestic energy in southern Africa
- due to low generation capacity of electricity
- and a large, and poor rural population
- Hence, the widespread deforestation, landscape degradation, soil erosion, and siltation of water systems and reservoirs in the region
Lentil Attribute…Lentils improve animal health
- lentil straw is better than cereal straw
- because is more palatable,
- because is higher in digestibility,
- and higher in nutrients: protein, Ca, and P
- there are forage lentil lines that produce high biomass yields
Lentil Attributes…Lentils, a profitable cash crop
- Lentils have a billion pound (£) international market
- major consumers in south Asia
- where lentils are integral to daily diets
- Canada, the world’s largest producer, exporter
- produced mainly by large prairie farmers
- India, the world’s largest importer, consumer, and second largest producer
- produced mainly by small holder farmers
Introducing lentils in Southern Africa…a cross-disciplinary approach
A Food Systems Approach…
- Cross-disciplinary studies:
- production, consumption, marketing, storage.
- Production:
- develop varieties, learn agronomy
- Consumption:
- innovate lentil dishes for local palates
- Marketing:
- develop local and international markets
- Storage: ensuring product quality
The Multiple Disciplines…
- Plant breeders, agronomists, soil scientists,
- nutritionists, public health, extensionists,
- Post-harvest scientists, plant protection,
- Sociologists, Statisticians, agricultural engineers,
- Economists, marketing, Trade,
- Farmers, households, NGOs, policy makers.
Project status…the journey begins in Malawi
- trials in 3 environments,
- that differ in altitude and rainfall regimes.
- identifying future breeding materials,
- identifying suitable environments,
- and learning lentil agronomy
Identifying future breeding materials
- Evaluating 570 accessions from ICARDA, on 3 sites:
- Traits of interest:
- drought tolerance
- heat resistance
- high yield
- disease and pest resistance
- early maturity
